By Michael Haag | Sports Editor
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — As good as No. 3 seed Baylor’s offense was throughout its 92-67 win over No. 14 seed Colgate on Friday afternoon in the FedExForum, the team knows its fate relies on the defensive end.
“I feel like we let up a little bit defensively,” senior forward Jalen Bridges said of the Bears’ effort late on Friday. “And that’s something that we cannot do going forward or we’re going to be heading on a flight home.
“We just have to play both ends instead of just trying to get open shots on offense. There’s 94 feet; we have to play on both ends.”
The Bears (24-10) have had a top-five offense according to KenPom for virtually the entire season, and they entered Friday’s game with the ninth-best 3-point shooting percentage (38.8) in the country.
Jalen Bridges had a game-high 23 points to lead the Bears, his fifth game of 20+ points this season and the second-straight game where he topped 20.
The senior’s five made three-pointers rank as the second most in an NCAA Tournament game in program history, and the most since… pic.twitter.com/dG2ClGGBI0
— Darby Brown (@darbyjobrown) March 22, 2024
The offense has rarely been an issue. Their defense is what’s been the biggest question mark or concern entering March Madness, and it’s something senior guard RayJ Dennis said could be a strength if the effort is there.
“We have to lock back in mentally,” Dennis said. “Overall, I think we were all right, but moving on we have to be a little better [defensively].”
But Baylor won’t complain when its offense scores 92 points — the most in an NCAA Tournament game in program history — on 16 made 3-pointers, which tied a school record for NCAA Tournament games.
The Bears scored 54 of their 92 points in the first half on a Colgate (25-10) squad that allowed just 63.2 points per game on the season. The 54 points were their most-ever in a half of an NCAA Tournament game.
“We got rolling,” Bridges said. “It is a blessing to be able to play with guys like Ja’Kobe [Walter], who can space the floor, guys like RayJ and J-Nunn who can make life easy for me and [Walter]. It’s fun to take the court with these guys every single night.”
What impressed Baylor head coach Scott Drew most was that his squad totaled 17 assists on 33 made shots. He added that he was happy with the team’s shot selection on Friday.
“We know [shots are] not always going to go in,” Drew said. “But [shot selection is] what you can control, and then you can control the effort on the glass. I thought we had great looks. I thought everyone was really unselfish. … I thought when we got stops in transition, we were really good as well.”
It's another game and another three-pointer for Baylor senior Austin Sacks, as he has now scored in four of the seven games that he has taken a shot in this season.
"It's just the work I put in behind the scenes."
"He's one of our hardest workers, and the work will show." https://t.co/BwZhsKQIlF pic.twitter.com/TJB7l2dhx4
— Eric Kelly (@EricKellyTV) March 22, 2024
But at the end of the day, Dennis said defense is what can move the needle for this Bears team as it looks to get out of the first weekend for the first time since 2020-21.
“That’s what’s going to win us a national championship,” Dennis said. “We have to get stops in crucial moments in games, and when we do that, we’ll be a really tough team to beat.”
